Sir Alex Ferguson fuming over penalty decision against Spurs

21 January 2013 06:17

Viewed : 564

Sir Alex Ferguson was left ruing a decision not to award his Manchester United side a penalty as they conceded an injury-time equaliser at Tottenham.

The visitors were leading 1-0 courtesy of a Robin van Persie header, his 18th Barclays Premier League goal of the season, when substitute Wayne Rooney went down under a challenge from Steven Caulker inside the box, but referee Chris Foy declined to award a penalty.

"It was a clear penalty," Ferguson said. "It was definitely a penalty. He has put his leg right in there. The linesman (Simon Beck) is facing it, I thought he had a very poor game, the linesman. I thought he was disappointing."

Spurs eventually scored a dramatic 92nd-minute equaliser through Clint Dempsey and United therefore had to settle for a five-point lead over champions Manchester City at the top of the table.

"We have got that history with him," Ferguson added. "He never gave offside with (Chelsea striker Didier) Drogba at Old Trafford when he was three yards offside. Everyone remembers that, I certainly do."

The incident with Drogba came in a 2-1 win for Chelsea at Old Trafford in April 2010 and Ferguson felt his side had been let down again, with Rooney seemingly fouled only moments after replacing Shinji Kagawa.

"For me it was a poor performance from him, why he never gave a penalty I don't know," Ferguson added. "I think he had a shocking game today, he's had a bad game and we never got anything from that side of the pitch."

Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas was unsure whether Caulker had caught Rooney, but did not want the argument to overshadow a tremendous performance and hard-fought point for his side.

He said: "We take our boost of confidence and the debate is going to be whether it was a penalty because that is controversy and it sells better, but we shouldn't mar the game and the quality of the game played in these difficult conditions.

"Fortunately we got a point, I think it is credit for the game that we had. We were the best team and created the best chances. I think it was probably the worst United game in terms of opportunities, with them having only four. It is a pity we couldn't win but I'm extremely happy with the draw obviously."